The world was burning in rhythm.
The new Republic assault had plunged the valley into total chaos. Fires screamed across the sky. Republic warplanes roared overhead, cutting the clouds like scythes. And in the center of it all stood The Pale Baron, a specter of war in blood-red armor, face hidden behind a cracked porcelain mask — one that smiled.
Herzl stared him down, bruised, dust-covered, but unbroken.
"Are you here to kill me?" Herzl asked, flexing his glowing fists.
"Kill you?" the Pale Baron chuckled. "No. I'm here to strip you bare."
🎭 War Becomes Theatre
The battlefield had become a grand stage. Bombs were falling like applause, bullets whistled in harmony, and Inn clashed in crescendos of energy. But the spotlight now belonged to Herzl and the Baron.
Around them, Grim's crew split to face the incoming Republic shock troops, whose armor shimmered with artificial Inn amplifiers — experimental tech clearly not native to the Republic. Something, or someone, was backing them.
Anna dragged a blade from the chest of a soldier and shouted over the flames.
"We need to pull back! This isn't a war anymore—it's a performance!"
Grim replied, his voice strangely serene, "Then let's give them a show."
⚔️ Herzl vs. The Pale Baron
The fight started with silence.
The Baron raised his massive broadsword — an Inn-infused relic pulsing with stolen soul energy. Herzl charged first, channeling raw Inn into his legs, flickering forward like a ghost.
Their blows met in a violent clash, cracking the very ground beneath them. The Baron's technique was refined brutality — every swing a lecture in death. Herzl countered with speed and unpredictability, adapting as he moved, using everything Grim and Anna had taught him.
But the Baron wasn't just a warrior. He was a messenger of entropy.
"Every man wears a mask, Herzl. Yours is the mask of 'hope'. It's ugly."
Blades clashed. Sparks flew. The Baron hurled Herzl into a burning tree. Blood spilled from Herzl's forehead. He wiped it off.
"You talk too much."
🌀 The Others Fight Back
Ouro strapped dynamite to a Republic mech, yelling, "Eat irony, you metal turd!" before vaulting away and detonating it mid-air.
Kael was surrounded by enemies, yet still took the time to argue with a wounded soldier about which philosopher would've hated war the most before knocking him out with a headbutt.
Lilia created a battlefield-wide illusion: a mirror world that confused the enemy so thoroughly that they shot at their own shadows.
But they were still outnumbered. Badly.
💥 Second Wind
Back at the duel, Herzl began seeing the Baron's pattern.
He remembered Anna's words: "Inn is like breath. When you breathe with intent, your body listens."
So he breathed — not to survive, but to fight. And something changed.
His right arm began to glow gold — not with fire, but with resolve.
The Baron noticed. For the first time, he looked… annoyed.
"You've never been trained to reach Second Pulse," he hissed. "You shouldn't even—"
Herzl interrupted him with a right hook to the mask.
Crack. The porcelain split slightly, revealing human eyes… and something darker behind them.
🕯️ End Scene
Herzl stood over the kneeling Baron, arm trembling.
"You wear your mask to hide your fear. I wear mine to protect what I still believe in."
But before he could land the final blow, a whistle echoed through the sky.
Everyone looked up.
A massive Republic bomber, unlike anything they'd seen before — the Leviathan Class, part airship, part artillery — loomed above the clouds, casting a black shadow over the entire valley.
Grim, watching the sky, whispered to himself:
"They weren't trying to win… they were trying to wipe the board clean."